I, Haley Ann Sewell, am a prideful person.
I am prideful about my intelligence.
…about my athletic abilities.
…about my ideas and opinions.
…about my character traits.
…about never having seen Harry Potter.
…about being a team leader.
…about having good friends.
…about having crazy stories.
…about relationship with my family.
…about being on the World Race.
…about being a “good” Christian.
Here are the truths about these things:
There are plenty of people who are smarter than me.
…who are more athletic than me.
…who have better character.
…who saw Harry Potter, loved it, and are still normal people.
…who would make much better leaders.
…who also have awesome friends.
…who have way crazier, more entertaining stories.
…who have an amazing family dynamic as well.
…who have travelled even more of the world.
…who don’t think of themselves as “good” Christians, but just serve the Lord.
Honestly, these are just a few things I thought of off the top of my head. I could literally go on for pages in what I am prideful about. This pride I have though is all in my own abilities, none in the Lord’s. These are things I think I do well because I, Haley Sewell, think I made them happen, not because the Lord put them in my life, called me to certain things, or blessed me in certain ways.
The Lord showed me this about myself this last week, and it has been a hard pill to swallow. This pride I have in myself is nothing to be prideful about at all. Is it wrong to take pride in who I am and what I can do? Absolutely not. Is it wrong to take pride in who I am and what I can do to the point of where I am putting others down, promoting myself over others, and just being stupid? Umm…DEFINITELY.
The sad part about it all is I didn’t even realize what I was doing.
The things I was taking pride in were all about me and how good I am. I mess up constantly, I like to cop an attitude sometimes. I mean, ask my parents, I had quite the snappy attitude growing up, and it still comes out. Honestly, on my own, I’m just not that great.
After God showed me this about myself, he also showed me something else. He taught me the pride I had in my life was bad and being prideful is wrong, but there is pride that is good. So here is what I am taking pride in now.
I take pride in being a daughter of the King.
…being filled with the Holy Spirit because He fills me.
…serving a Father that loves me unconditionally.
…being a co-heir with Christ.
…having a purpose in my life because of my Savior Jesus Christ.
…being able to love those around me because of the way the Father loved me first.
…being able to give grace to those around me because the Father showed me grace first.
…living my life for Him, not because of my own abilities, but because of His.
Thank you God for calling me on this crazy adventure, for providing absolutely everything I needed before, providing while I have been gone, and how you will provide when I enter the next season of life.
Thank you God for this family I have around me here on the Race that call me higher, sharpen me, and still love me when I mess up.
Thank you God for who You are, how You love, and how You show us Yourself each and every second of the day if we take just a second to look for You.
Thank you God for the lessons learned this week and these last 5 and a half months. I pray I learn even more in these last 5 and a half months than I already have and go home a new person because You have chiseled at me and made me just a little more like You.
